Thread: First attempt at shaving

Well I just got all my gear and tried it out last night. Needless to say I have some learning to do. What little I actually got accomplished I loved doing. I cant wait to get it down.

My cheeks went ok, it is my chin lip and neck areas that I didnt do so hot on. My stropping is going to need work as well. The razor came shave ready and I dont want to dull it, so I take my time on the strop, already nicked the strop a couple times.

Cant wait to try again tonight, see if I can get a good shave for work tomorrow.

Brian

I felt the same enthusiasm when I began straight razor shaving. I used a DE to finish off the tougher parts for the first two or three weeks before I got to using the straight for all of it exclusively. Here is SRP founder Lynn Abrams advice for the first straight razor shaves. Read my sig line below to avoid nicks and cuts.

Very good advice from above. It has helped me tremendously.

Happy Shaving

Cool thanks for the advice. I just put it to use. I do have to say, today was a little better, and a lot more productive. Still got a few nicks around the chin area. I think that is going to be my biggest problem area.

It feels so coarse around the chin and I dont want to force it and nick myself. I think I need to ease up on the pressure, my face has a little razor burn. Learning the grip is a trick too.

I cant wait till the next shave to improve some more.

Brian

Good to hear of early success and enthusasim. Keep up the good work. You'll get there before you know it!


Mick

This is great story and nice learning curve. just go slowly you will get there. be careful when you strop. by nicking you are damaging not just your strop ,edge of blade too.gl

Keep working at it. I think the chin is the hardest area by far to get down, I've been shaving for a little over a month now, and am just now getting close shaves in the chin area, and I still do make the occasional mistake there. like most things in life you skill will improve with practice. You definately should work on your stropping, because this does play a huge role in the quality of your shave. It was recommended to me to practice with a butter knife to get used to the stropping motion and develop the muscle memory to strop well. That being said don't get down on yourself for dinging your strop, all honest people here will tell you that they destroyed their first strop. I think my first strop (a cheapy thank goodness) lasted about 2 weeks before it was unusable, but I have yet to nick my second (knock on wood). Keep up the good work and keep practicing and it will get better and more rewarding as you progress.

I tried shaving small bits of my face everyday until I felt comfortable. If you don't feel comfortable doing a area on your face retreat until your skills improve. Stick with it.

Welcome to the right way to shave. No need to hurry, take your time and add new techniques (XG and ATG) and new areas of your face as you gain some skills and confidence. In no time you will get to where you want to go. I just returned from a week long business trip and truly missed my straights and the shaving experience. It's too much hassle to take my kit with me, plus the fear of those items coming up missing after the "TSA look through" of my checked bags. So I take my Merkur twin razor. It doesn't come close to the shave I get with my straights!

Congrats on taking the plunge! By combination of fear and total lack of technique, the first shave is the hardest. The ease of shaving and quality of the shave will get better from here, and before you know it you will have the smoothest shave you've ever had, using the most manly of shaving tools!